January is coming to a close, and after starting out with an epic 50K in the snow and an ambitious goal of running 2018 miles in 2018, I’m already rethinking my goal races and priorities.
First, the not so great news. I am WAY behind on my mileage goal for January. I had an allergic reaction that was causing hives that got worse after the 50K. I was not feeling well at all, so I had a few weeks of limited running. I went on some medication and discovered that the allergic reaction was a new brand of boxed wine. I figure that is a sign that DH and I should cut back on drinking during the week! I also moved up my goal race of doing a 50 miler from September to June, which means I am cycling down right now. It’s so hard when I know I’m way behind on the mileage to get the 2018, but I have to have faith that I’ll make it up later in the year. I should be getting 168 miles a month and I will be lucky to reach 100 for January.
Now for the good news! I’ve decided that instead of waiting until September to do my first 50 miler, I will be doing a double marathon at Yankee Springs in June. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, it will take the pressure off of the time limit because there is a quad marathon going on that same weekend. That means I have 31 hours to finish. Secondly, I just really want to! I enjoy long distances and seem to recover well. That means at Run Woodstock I’ll be doing my first 100K. Again, this is actually an advantage because the 100K starts with the 100 milers, giving me plenty of time. 30 hours. I could even take a nap if I wanted haha.
In other good news, I’ve been paying attention to my heart rate monitor and realized that I’ve been running mostly in low zone 2. So I stepped up my efforts and am seeing a really good increase in speed. I even PRd my neighborhood 5K route!
This was the day after I took my first swimming lesson. Coincidence? Maybe swimming really is great cross training!
On Friday it was so beautiful out (50s) that I went for a 5.5 mile run even though I had a planned long run on Saturday. Sunshine cannot be taken for granted in January in Michigan!
Saturday I did 10 miles with RunGR, a group that I’ve known for awhile but now I can actually run at their pace. It’s been fun getting to know them. We even went out for breakfast on Friday and coffee after the run on Saturday. Saw them on Sunday too at the RunGR annual party. Running is much more fun with friends! Turns out I can run faster with them, too!
Have your goals changed this month? Do you have “running friends?” Let me know in the comments below!
Speaking of running friends, be sure to check out these running link ups: The Weekly Wrap hosted by hosted by HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home and Tuesdays on the Run with Patty, Erika, and Marcia!
Yes, I have running friends. I am so fortunate that my running friends are in my same age group and run compatible paces with me. We get each other!
See, different age groups are actually a plus because then you are not competing against each other haha.
Oh my goodness, that’s crazy about that allergic reaction! What brand was it? I buy my fair share of boxed wine. lol Was it to the wine itself or the packaging? Crazy!!
I did change up my goals this month. I decided on dropping a marathon and moving up my first 50k! And now it seems I’ll be running 2 50ks this year!
I recently found a running group full of ultra runners! Could not have gotten luckier given my plans. 🙂
oooh hoo enjoy your ultras! It is turning into my favorite distance.
I hesitate to say what the wine was, but I will tell you that it was NOT Black Box, which I have drank for a year or so with no issues. I had switched to a different brand because it was a few bucks cheaper (not as cheap as Franzia, haha). Every once in awhile I get a weird reaction to wine but this was pretty dramatic. I think there is an additive that I’m reacting to that is only in some of them.
Sorry to hear about your allergic reaction. You can’t predict that so I wouldn’t be discouraged being behind your running for January. February is a new month!
thank you for the encouragement!
I have a few local running friends, but one gal 9In particular) who does a lot of training (and racing) with me. I have LOTS of fabulous virtual running friends, and they all are wonderful 😉 Did I read that right…two marathons in June? ((gulp)) I’ve done a June marathon followed by a July ultra….so I totally understand your “insanity.” 😉
Yes, I’m a glutton for punishment haha! It will be my first 50+ miler.
So sorry to hear that allergic reaction threw your training goals for a loop. So crazy! Your back to back marathon plan is an exciting one! All the best with the training!
thank you so much!
At least your mileage setback occurred early in the year and you have a lot of time to make up for it. I don’t know anything about a double marathon. Do you run them back to back or take time in between? Regardless, that will be a very impressive accomplishment. I’ve recently started running with a group of ladies who are pushing me to faster paces. It’s fun! Thanks for linking!
The double marathon is run continuously, it’s the marathon course twice in a row 🙂